Flaps

The other day I was walking the dogs with Mrs B near the in-laws' home. An old dog had gone missing and a group on Facebook had been mobilised to help find this poorly old creature. Sadly, I think it is still missing, but we spent a couple of hours traipsing around in the rain doing our bit. The only positive thing that seemed to come of this soggy venture at the time was the discovery of a pile of discarded thin floor tiles (I think). I took them home and left them propped against an outside wall before deciding whether they could be put to good use. On reflection I think they are probably too thick for the job I had in mind. But that won't deter the mudguarded cycletourist from the perpetual search for that Holy Grail: the DIY flap.

Does your bike ever look like this? Then you need to read on. Seriously…

In the olden days you would secure the bridge of your front mudguard to the rear of the steel fork crown. Nowadays your bike may have a deeper fork crown if the fork is made of carbon fibre. The recessed bolt at the rear of the fork crown will mean that the bridge of the mudguard will have to be fastened in place at the front of the fork crown. Crucially, this will move the mudguards perhaps a couple of inches forwards on an arc and so the trailing edge of the guard will be raised that much more. If you take your bike out in the rain with a shorter front mudguard then your feet, front derailleur, chainset and bottom bracket will get a bit of a pasting. But you already know that don't you? No? And if you are riding in a group you will probably need more than just a shop-bought mudguard to keep spray out of the face of the following cyclist.

So here is a rundown of the homebrew flaps fitted to the mudguards of a number of our members…

Dave L's rear mudguard with inner tube DIY flap. Dave couldn't (or should that be wouldn't?) reveal the precise tube diameter of his solution. It appears to be held in place by the elasticity of the tube, and friction

One of the job lot of DIY flaps made by John D, fashioned from DPC membrane. Interestingly, this one appears to be fastened on by a strip of metal crimped and folded to fit the profile of the rear guard

Like those of us who prefer to pair road chainsets with mountain bike cassettes, Dave L uses a different method for his front flap. It needs to be wider than the skinnier inner tube rear flap. Here we see the first tie wrap pulled tight around the mudguard stay

Here Dave L has another take on the front flap. More tie wraps, but purists may perhaps be unsettled by (a) the length of those uncut stays and (b) the manner of their puncturing the flap. A little left field there, David

Jeffery's see-though rear flap shows both the muck and his eco-friendly credentials: it's an 'ecover' washing-up liquid rear flap. Tantalisingly out of shot is the securing method, but knowing Jeffery it will be a structurally satisfying nut and bolt arrangement

Athena is another of our overtly eco-friendly members and has gone for a wider 'ecover' rear flap than the one put to use by Jeffery. Note the double-pop-rivet-securing-method variation used here

Back to Jeffery and his front mudguard. The memory fails so I can't report on the material used in this affair, but note the esoteric securing mechanism. A hole is punched through the flap but crucially – unlike Dave L's alarming set-up – we have a metal eyelet used to prevent splitting, and some sort of shoelace or elasticated cord providing belt-and-braces fastening. Fascinating…

I recall a front flap that Jeffery had once tested. It was enormous and was reminiscent of an inverted Dracula collar. A few inches longer and it would surely have doubled as a Heath Robinson snow plough. The material used was some sort of rubberised thing, or was it PVC? Anyway, Jeffery discarded it, perhaps because it acted as an air dam. It was impressively huge.

Roger has gone for an understated, minimalist approach. I believe this carefully sculptured svelte effort started out life on a supermarket shelf. Roger's instructions start thus: "Buy a bottle of Morrisons car shampoo. Throw the car shampoo away…" The more attentive reader will have spied Roger's double-nut-and-bolt securing method. We expected nothing less, Roger

While there are no formal rules governing the crafting of the DIY mud flap it must surely go against the spirit and principles of such an undertaking to fit a length of actual mudguard to the end of your mudguard. This rider, who shall remain nameless (largely because I have forgotten who he was), has put function before form to create a frankly soulless confection

Speaking of confection, there are no prizes for guessing what these flaps have been made from. Scott, a (relatively) young upstart has playfully cropped the top and bottom of a tub of chocolates to give a slightly startled world his twin flaps. Double hole through the mudguard and tie wrap to finish off the job. Quality. However, the garish colour of these bold offerings means that the flaps should probably have been trimmed at the top and fastened to the inside of the mudguards. Nice try, young man (is there rather too much cross-chaining going on too?), but you have a lot to learn…

I went to Morrisons and couldn't find the same car shampoo that Roger had described. However, my attention was drawn to the tempting curves of a bottle of limescale remover (I did, however, follow Roger's other piece of advice and just poured it down the toilet).

As is so often the case, the process of finely tuning my DIY flap involved a degree of trial and improvement. During my first attempts I discovered I had left too much of a curve at the bottom of the flap. At speed or in a crosswind it chirruped like a demented finch, so a little trimming proved necessary. It's still not quite perfect.

My DIY front flap alongside the commercially available RAW Mudflap.

I haven't had the opportunity for a 'head-to-head' test between the RAW Mudflap pictured above and my Morrisons special (okay, I have to give the eBay purchase back so that Father Christmas can present it to me properly), but it is something to look forward to between Boxing Day and the New Year.

Is it cheating to buy a fully formed flap? Yes, probably. But I felt the need to show support to the chap who makes these – in a range of colours. For £10.00 plus 73 pence postage you get pre-drilled front and rear flaps, with reflective logo, adhesive strip and the nuts, bolts and washers you will need. Some of my fellow 'brisk' riders would doubtless balk at the price, certainly, but just as much at the idea of giving up on the self-guided journey of finding that perfect flap. But should we spend what remains of our lives scrutinising every two litre milk carton, bottle of anti-freeze or washing-up liquid, margarine tub lid, bleach container and whatever the hell it is that Jeffery presses in to service when we could probably use that time more profitably?

I don't know. But if you want a pair of these (they can also be bought individually) before Christmas you need to get your order in by Wednesday at the latest.

If you think you have a better solution or would just like to share words or images of your own mudguard flaps then add your comment to this post or reply to this tweet.

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Posted by Admin on December 13th, 2015. Comments on this entry are closed.

4 Responses to “Flaps”

Jeffery Tallermanwrote:

Thanks for a really good article, Chris. Think my flap was from a toilet cleaner bottle. I was caught by what appeared to be the 'Wednesday Crowd', although it was on a Friday recently. There were 9 riders and every one had a proper rear flap! If they can do it, why the dickens can't the CTC? Seasons greetings to you all.

December 16, 2015 at 12:26 pm

ChrisBwrote:

Jeffery wrote: Think my flap was from a toilet cleaner bottle.

I would have put money on it being an 'ecover' bottle. Speaking of which…

There were 9 riders and every one had a proper rear flap! If they can do it, why the dickens can't the CTC?

Our Athena was out on my last CTC ride. She got a face full of road spray from a certain person (clue: he has a bicycle shop in Cottingham).

Must catch up with you soon, Jeffery, and not just to see the current incarnation of your flappage. TTFN – Chris.

December 16, 2015 at 2:50 pm

Garry Boothwrote:

Just a note to say how much I enjoyed this research on improvised winter wear.

December 21, 2015 at 5:04 pm

ChrisBwrote:

Garry Booth wrote: Just a note to say how much I enjoyed this research on improvised winter wear.

You're welcome, Garry. I hope the ideas here and your enquiries on the CTC forum have given you and your club mates some ideas for your flaps. It also prompted me to visit Poundland following the advice on the forum. Watch this space… 🙂